The proper use of Teleios?

[phydaux]

I've got a question for ya all:

 

What is the proper use of Teleios?

 

Dr. Destroyer, Mechanon, Tekofanes, Ogre, Foxbat, these all have readily apparent places in the OCU. I'm wondering how to make best use of Teleios.

 

Here's the best idea I can come up with:

 

The heroes respond to a giant monster rampaging through the city. It is destroying buildings, crushing cars, etc. They battle and battle, but the monster's defenses are just too strong.

 

After a few turns of combat, the heroes get a call from the City Hall. The Mayor has Teleios in his office. the creature belongs to Teleios, and only he can stop it. But he has a price. He doesn't want money, or to be king of the city, or for the newly crowned Miss City to marry him. He wants blood - a pint of blood from each member of the hero team.

 

He guarantees no harm will come to the heroes, and that once they give him the blood samples the creature will stop its rampage.

 

The heroes just have to agree to give up their blood.

 

Sound interesting?

[Hermit]

Sounds good to me. There are some other ideas on the plot seeds in Free Stuff btw, if you're interested.

[phydaux]

Yeah. I've already decided he isn't going to DO anything with the blood, other than research. But just the fact that a demented geneticist WANTS their blood is enough to give players fits. And enough to make PCs say "No WAY!"

 

You know, this would make a good "What would your character do?

[JeffreyWKramer]

I think that is a fine idea for Teleios. As I see it, he should be the guy behind the scenes, a guy who is a major player because he has very useful, specialized skills more than being particularly powerful in and of himself. He's the guy who creates low-level metahuman muscle for crime lords, petty dictators and others in exchange for protection and non-interference. He's also the guy who has connections with other big names who might occasionally have specialized medical needs or reasons for seeking some bio-modification, and there's certainly nothing wrong with having someone like Menton on your speed-dial.

 

Teleios is, in my opinion, the sort of character you wouldn't be particularly scared to face in a fight or a raid on his lair, but any character should be terrified of having him as a Hunted. If he really has a grudge against you, he can do things like:

- genetically modify your other Hunteds so they are tougher - or have specialized abilities that are perfect for kicking your ass and playing on your vulnerabilities;

- create clones of you and your loved ones to cause trouble, frame you, etc.;

- offer his services to really tough villains who want to get tougher, in exchange for said villans taking you out;

- come up with gene-replacing virii that nullify your powers;

- etc.; you get the idea.

[Agent Escafarc]

In our shared campaign world he is the former lover of one PC and the father of two others. And has for the most part a behind the scenes typr villian. For some reason the PCs are afraid of him though they couldn't really tell you why:)

[phydaux]

Originally posted by Agent Escafarc

For some reason the PCs are afraid of him though they couldn't really tell you why:)

 

I'll tell you WHY:

 

Teleios - "I'm bored! Let's see, who do I have DNA records of? Hmm... Ah, HIM! I think I'll make varient of the Ebola virus that his harmless to everyone in the world EXCEPT Carrot Top. I always thought he was freeky... Let's see... That's done. I've released it into the LA basin's water supply. Hmm... Another hour until lunch... Who ELSE do I have DNA records of????"

[Highwayman]

I think I'll make varient of the Ebola virus that is harmless to everyone in the world EXCEPT Carrot Top.

 

Dear God NO! Now who will tell us how to make collect calls? Who can stop this madness?

[Hermit]

While it looks like they're going to have ARGENT fill this niche, Teleios could also be the veritable "Devil" that heroes might be tempted to deal with even though they KNOW it's a bad idea.

 

"Tired of being ugly? I can cure you... for a price."

 

"Wouldn't you like to have control over your powers?"

 

"Of course your wife is dead... but I can give her back to you; I'll need a few things."

[JeffreyWKramer]

Originally posted by Hermit

While it looks like they're going to have ARGENT fill this niche, Teleios could also be the veritable "Devil" that heroes might be tempted to deal with even though they KNOW it's a bad idea.

 

"Tired of being ugly? I can cure you... for a price."

 

"Wouldn't you like to have control over your powers?"

 

"Of course your wife is dead... but I can give her back to you; I'll need a few things."

 

Excellent ideas, Hermit. I personally think he's a much better idea for filling that niche than is ARGENT, but then, I think ARGENT as written up is a bit lacklustre. In my campaign, he has done favors like that for a *lot* of people in very high places... often after covertly creating the problem they needed help with in the first place - the daughter's rare birth defect, the cancer nobody else could manage to treat, etc. As a result, there is a lot less effort put into finding him and putting him behind bars than would otherwise be the case.

[Lord Liaden]

When I was using Teleios's CU predecessor, Malachite, I gave him a Nietzchean/Darwinian philosophy. He did believe in his own superiority, but he also wanted to bring the rest of humanity "up" to his level. To that end he was always experimenting on human subjects to test the versatility of the race's genes. Believing Nietzche's motto that "that which does not kill us makes us stronger," he would release viruses designed to weed out people with certain deformities, or to trigger dormant mutations. He would create and loose various monsters to eliminate the weak and test the mettle of superheroes. His ongoing attempts to capture or create the perfect "bride" was to found a perfect dynasty to lead mankind into a new age. And he was convinced that all of this was to the long-term benefit of humanity, justifying any suffering he might cause along the way.

[Mutant for Hire]

Teleios to me isn't much of a direct opponent. In fact he's one of these major powers that I don't think any superhero will ever come into direct conflict with.

 

Teleios is a scientist. And he's becoming more of an engineer as well, though not in traditional hardware. Something to remember is that his mastery of genetic code tells him nothing about the best way to design a creature. For a gigantic monster, what is the optimal skeletal structure for combat? For a tiny creature? How many limbs? Is it best to go for light and speedy or for slow and unbreakable? The secrets he learned about genetic code tell him nothing about that.

 

So Teleios is learning how to design monsters. He creates them, unleashes them, watches them get destroyed and he learns from his studies. That's the major way that superheroes are going to have Teleios in their life. He's going to be dumping monsters on them and having his minions observing the battle and taking notes. Teleios isn't going to be anywhere near the battleground. Too dangerous for a variety of reasons, and for that matter, it wouldn't serve any point.

 

Teleios' mastery of genetic code does not give him the inherent ability to design any power he likes. It's the difference between knowing how to write computer programs and being able to write an AI. In theory, you might be able to write one in C, but that requires a bunch of knowledge beyond simple programming ability. Teleios collects information on how various powers are reflected in genetic code, and seeks a sort of master key to the gene/power sequence. He'd like to be able to specify a power and then work out the genetic sequence needed to create it. He can only do it for a limited range of powers, and so he's constantly seeking to expand his database.

 

And so one of his hobbies is collecting the genetic code of those with unusual powers, and those with exotic physiologies like aliens. He'd dearly love to get a genetic sample of Firewing, but so far no one has been able to get a sample for him. He's also aware that in some cases, simply cloning someone isn't enough. Mystic powers baffle him, as none of the clones have shown much in the way of the power of the original, at least inherently. He's rather confused of the idea of spiritual powers that aren't reflected in the genetics of the person involved. Likewise his cloning of martial artists.

 

And it's not just powers. Teleios is interested in brilliant artists, engineers, even scientists, as well as those who are very gifted in physical activites as well. He wants to work out the full genetic roots of genius in every field of endeavor (and incorporate them into his own design). Some accuse him of being behind all the Elvis sightings.

 

He is aware of nature versus nurture and a lot of his experiments with duplicating people involve determining how much behavior is hardwired and how much is genetic. Taking a hero, cloning them and placing an evil personality in the clone is just his way of seeing how much of that heroic nature is hardwired in the genetic code of a person (and so Teleios is a major supplier of evil twins in the Champions universe). The more heroic a person, the more he is likely to try this. Likewise, he likes taking a mind-recording of someone and placing it in a different body to see how they cope. In fact he can take different mind recordings and place them in clones of the same body to see how they all deal with that body differently.

 

Teleios is in the habit of selling immortality to the rich and powerful, for financial aid and political influence. That work doesn't really interest him, and it's heavily automated so that his servants can handle the vast bulk of it. He collects wealth to purchase equipment and to help him aquire genetic samples of people he wants, as well as shielding him from harrassment by the superhero community. Anyone going after Teleios should be prepared for a lot of official heat. Should a team ever actually catch up with Teleios, he'd run, period. He doesn't want to fight. Fighting is not what interests him. He'll run and call some very important people and bring a lot of official heat on the superheroes in question. That's it.

 

In short, Teleios is most known by his handiwork. He produces clones of people because he wants to do an experiment to learn something. He creates monsters likewise because he wants to see how his designs do. Those clone experiments can be very confusing for heroes because it's not clear what Teleios is up to. He's not going after wealth or power or anything like that. He's monitoring and measureing PC and clone reactions. He doesn't care if his stuff is destroyed by the PCs because in destruction he learns something.

[Vondy]

Catamite works

[Guest WhammeWhamme]

Originally posted by D-Man

Catamite works

 

Cata-whozamamie?

[Vondy]

Originally posted by WhammeWhamme

Cata-whozamamie?

 

Catamite.

 

It literally means whipping boy.

 

In some midieval states the heir to the throne had a peasant boy designated to be whipped in the event the heir did something wrong...

 

I think Telios would make an excellent Catamite.

[Brandi]

Originally posted by D-Man

I think Telios would make an excellent Catamite.

 

Catamite, you say?

 

Well, he is prettier than many of the women in the Champions Universe...

[Agent Escafarc]

Originally posted by Brandi

Catamite, you say?

 

Well, he is prettier than many of the women in the Champions Universe...

So he's a Cabin Boy:D